Memphis Tigers focusing on staying atop league

In order to stay in first, they know there can be no let-up

Jason Smith

12:00 AM, Feb 18, 2011

Although the view might be prettier for a University of Memphis team now sitting alone atop Conference USA, the Tigers insist they plan to approach the rest of the regular season as if they still have an uphill climb.

It's true that with one slip-up -- such as an upset loss at Rice on Saturday -- Memphis could go plummeting to as low as a tie for fourth place in a league race in which the No. 1 and 6 spots are separated by just one game.

"We came from (fifth), so we still feel like we're there because it happened overnight that we became first," freshman forward Tarik Black said. "So you can't really get big-headed like it's been something ongoing for a while."

Memphis (20-6, 8-3), a winner in four straight games following its 62-58 home victory over UAB on Wednesday, has learned from experience.

After splitting their first two C-USA contests, the Tigers climbed to the top of the league standings in late January, winning four in a row, including road victories at Southern Miss and UAB.

But back-to-back losses at Marshall and at home to Tulsa -- teams that had never beaten Memphis in C-USA play -- sent the Tigers spiraling back to the middle of the pack.

Now back in first, they don't intend to fall again.

"We're hanging by a thread with someone looking to stomp their foot on our fingers," coach Josh Pastner said. "If we don't have a firm grip, you lose that spot; you drop back down.

"Our back was against the wall twice. That week from Tennessee to the SMU game and then we lost twice in a row to Marshall and Tulsa ... but guys have responded. The great thing is with all of our youth, they've been learning how to win. They're getting better at valuing each possession, and you look at our defensive numbers -- that's what it comes down to."

Memphis' defense has certainly been a key to its ascent to the top of the standings. The Tigers rank No. 1 in league play in field-goal percentage defense (40.1 percent), having allowed just two opponents in 11 C-USA games to shoot better than 47 percent. Over its last five contests, including a 68-65 loss to Tulsa, Memphis has held opponents to 36.6-percent shooting.

Against UAB on Wednesday, the Tigers harassed UAB's three starting guards into a combined 5-of-28 performance from the field. Freshman Chris Crawford and junior Charles Carmouche helped limit senior guard Jamarr Sanders, the Blazers' leading scorer, to just six points -- nearly 13 below his average -- on 2-of-13 shooting.

"We all know every game me and Chris Crawford are going to get the toughest assignments," Carmouche said. "We take pride in our defense. That's one of our things that we don't want to happen. We don't want to be the one getting a bucket scored on. I think that's what this team is made of. Defense first, and we let everything else follow."

Memphis wasn't so good defensively for a stretch in December and into early January when Kansas, Georgetown, Lipscomb, Tennessee State and Tennessee shot better than 46 percent against the Tigers, who dropped three of the five games and had to hold off TSU, 91-86.

Black said the players are no longer pointing fingers in blame on the defensive end, having built more trust in one another.

"At first we were hugging our man. It was a one-on-one game. If our man wasn't the one that scored, we'll point the finger at everybody else," Black said. "But now, it seems like every time we watch film, if a person starts driving, we're flooding the lanes. So we've done a better job trusting each other on that end of the court.

"If we can stop the other team from scoring, our offense will take care of itself."

Black said the Tigers, who were upbeat but businesslike in a light practice and weightlifting session Thursday, won't get ahead of themselves this time when it comes to maintaining their perch atop C-USA.

"It's easy for us now," he said. "At the beginning of the season we were looking toward all of our big games. You know how that goes with a young team. But now we've bought into coach's system, which is every game is just as important as the next. So this next game is the only game we're paying attention to. I don't even know who we play after Rice."